The invention relates to an air spring assembly at least comprising the following components, specifically
an air spring bellows made of elastomer material and comprising an air spring inner chamber with an elastic volume, whereby the air spring bellows is provided with an embedded reinforcement in most cases;
an air spring cover on which the one end of the air spring bellows is secured;
an air spring piston comprised of
a face area that is arranged opposite the air spring cover;
a piston edge that defines the face area on the outer side, whereby the other end of the air spring bellows is turned inside out over the edge of the piston and merges into a mostly thickened fastening zone which in turn is secured on the air spring piston in a clamped manner by means of a tying element within the face area of said piston;
a lateral roll-off surface on which the air spring bellows is capable of rolling off, forming a rolling fold; and
a base area;
as well as a buffer that is arranged within the face area of the air spring piston.
An air spring assembly of the type specified above, which is frequently briefly referred to as an air spring, is described in the published patent documents EP-A-0 943 836, EP-A-0 969 223 and EP-A-0 969 224, notably with the following special constructional features:
The tying element for tying the air spring bellows to the air spring piston is made of metal and realized in the form of a cap, for example in the form of a mountable closing cap; and
The buffer, which is embedded within the face area of the air spring piston in the cap-shaped tying element, secures the pneumatic spring in case the air spring bellows is damaged or inoperative over a longer period of time.
Now, some automobile manufacturers wish to delimit with the air spring the maximum outer position of the chassis. This leads to the fact that the air spring is heavily loaded by the weight of the axle, the tires and the brake assembly. In addition, against the background of rising price pressure, some suppliers of automakers are forced to look for other possibilities available at more favorable cost while offering at the same time high technical efficiency.
Now, based on the problems outlined above, the air spring assembly according to the invention is characterized in that
the tying element for tying the air spring bellows to the air spring piston and the buffer realized in the form of a securing and buffering combination system form one single structural component.
Useful further developments of the air spring assembly as defined by the invention are discussed below.